Wednesday, September 23

Who Has Time to Do Preserving? I've Gotta Pack.

An oversized red bell pepper from the La Jolla Farmers Market.

This post was going to be about the joys of preserving late summer's produce for winter, especially red bell peppers. I had planned on extolling the virtues of making your own roasted peppers -- tastier, healthier, cheaper -- rather than buying them. That's not gonna happen.

1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, warm olive oil. Add onions, and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until lightly browned.

2. Meanwhile, in a small skillet over medium heat, add coriander and fennel seeds. Toast until aromatic, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Add diced roasted peppers to the onions and stir. Add broth and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer. Add crushed red pepper flakes, toasted coriander and fennel seeds, and salt. Stir well. Cook for 8-10 minutes. Turn off heat and cool for 5-10 minutes.

4. Puree soup in two batches until smooth, and return to the pot over medium-low until thoroughly heated. Taste it; adjust seasonings accordingly. If desired, add more broth for a soupier consistency. Garnish each serving with some toasted fennel seeds and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Here's how to make roasted red peppers. Of course, for a quicker version, you can substitute jarred roasted peppers.

Preheat a grill to high. Place peppers on the grill, rotating several times, until fully blackened (about 20 minutes).

Place grilled peppers inside a paper bag and close the top tightly. Place the bag inside a large bowl (to catch any juices that spill out), for about 10 minutes. The steam will help the skins peel off more easily.

Remove one pepper at a time. Place on a cutting board, and split open. Remove the stem and the seeds.

Using a piece of paper towel, rub the skins off. If you have trouble removing them, then steam them a bit longer; otherwise, they should come off easily.

I want to make that soup so BADLY!! Unfortunately we had crappy pepper weather (and poor tomato turn-out as well thanks to some crazy Tennessee blight that wiped out all the plants over here on the PA/NY border), and NONE of our peppers look like that! Totally go shopping...always, always go shopping for trips. Right now there are TONS of sales. Have fun. I LOVE San Francisco!

Have a great time at Blogher Susan. All I remember well from the list oif things to do is 'To call Jeff and tell him you have nothing to wear this weekend'!! LOL...does anyhting else matter!! YUM soup BTW...beautiful!